In recent years, the healthcare industry has been grappling with the challenges of improving patient outcomes, reducing costs, and enhancing the overall efficiency of healthcare delivery. BPM+ Health, a groundbreaking initiative, addresses these issues by leveraging the power of Business Process Management (BPM) and standardized processes to transform the healthcare landscape.
The BPM+ Health community of practice, founded in 2019, is a collaborative effort between healthcare providers, payers, and technology vendors, working together to develop and implement industry-wide standards for healthcare processes. By adopting a common language and methodology, BPM+ Health seeks to improve the interoperability and consistency of healthcare systems, ultimately leading to better patient care and streamlined operations.
BPM+
At the heart of BPM+ Health is the BPM+ Health Framework, a comprehensive set of standards and guidelines for designing, implementing, and managing healthcare processes. The framework is built upon the principles of Business Process Management (BPM) and leverages industry-standard notations such as Business Process Model and Notation™ (BPMN™), Decision Model and Notation™ (DMN™), and Case Management Model and Notation™ (CMMN™). Thus, BPM+ = BPMN + DMN + CMMN.
Healthcare Framework
The BPM+ Health Framework consists of three main components:
- Process Definitions: Standardized process models that define best practices for various healthcare domains, such as clinical pathways, administrative processes, and patient engagement.
- Information Models: Structured representations of healthcare data elements and their relationships, enabling seamless data exchange between systems.
- Execution Semantics: Rules and guidelines for interpreting and executing process definitions, ensuring consistent behavior across different implementations.
Interoperability Standards
To enable interoperability, BPM+ Health leverages a range of industry standards and protocols, including:
- Health Level Seven International (HL7®): HL7 is a set of standards for exchanging, integrating, sharing, and retrieving electronic health information. BPM+ Health uses HL7 standards to ensure that healthcare systems can communicate and exchange information seamlessly.
- Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®): FHIR is a standard for exchanging healthcare information electronically. BPM+ Health uses FHIR to enable the rapid development and deployment of interoperable healthcare applications.
- Clinical Decision Support (CDS) Hooks: CDS Hooks™ is a specification for enabling the integration of clinical decision support systems with electronic health records (EHRs). BPM+ Health uses CDS Hooks to provide healthcare professionals with real-time, evidence-based recommendations and alerts.
Standardized Clinical Pathways
One of the key focuses of BPM+ Health is the development of standardized clinical pathways. These pathways provide a clear, evidence-based roadmap for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of specific medical conditions. By implementing these standardized processes, healthcare providers can ensure that patients receive the most appropriate and effective care, regardless of their location or the specific healthcare system they are using.
In addition to clinical pathways, BPM+ Health also addresses the need for standardized administrative processes, such as claims processing and eligibility verification. By streamlining these processes and eliminating redundancies, healthcare organizations can reduce administrative overhead and focus more resources on patient care.
Benefits
The potential benefits of BPM+ Health are significant. By improving the efficiency and consistency of healthcare processes, the initiative has the potential to reduce medical errors, improve patient outcomes, and lower healthcare costs. Moreover, by enhancing interoperability between healthcare systems, BPM+ Health can facilitate the seamless exchange of patient data, enabling more informed decision-making and better coordination of care.
Future
While the adoption of BPM+ Health standards is still in its early stages, the initiative has already garnered significant support from key players in the healthcare industry. Many healthcare organizations have recognized the potential of BPM+ Health to drive positive change and are actively working to implement these standards within their own systems.
Summary
As the healthcare industry continues to evolve and face new challenges, initiatives like BPM+ Health will play an increasingly important role in shaping the future of healthcare delivery. By leveraging the power of standardized processes and interoperability, BPM+ Health has the potential to transform the way we approach healthcare, ultimately leading to better outcomes for patients and a more sustainable healthcare system for all.
OMG®, BPMN™, (Business Process Model and Notation™), Decision Model and Notation™, (DMN™), CMMN™, (Case Management Model and Notation™), Financial Industry Business Ontology (FIBO®) and BPM+ Health™ are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Object Management Group, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.
HL7®, and FHIR® are the registered trademarks of Health Level Seven International and the use of these trademarks does not constitute an endorsement by HL7.
CDS Hooks™, the CDS Hooks logos, SMART™ and the SMART logos are trademarks of The Children’s Medical Center Corporation.
Featured Self-Assessment
Take the BPM+ Skills Self-Assessment now
Featured Certificate
Learn more about the BPM+ Specialist Certificate and training by BPMInstitute.org
Featured Article
What is the Triple Crown of Modeling? BPMN, DMN, & CMMN Explained.
Featured Interview
Part 1 – Low Code / No Code for process professionals
Part 2 – Process Automation for process professionals
Part 3 – Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for process professionals
Part 4 – Decision Automation for process professionals
Part 5 – Migration to cloud computing for process professionals
